Coin selector



May 3o, 1939. B. E. MILLS COIN SELECTOR Filed Oct. l, 1937 www. z.

' Patented May 3o, 1939 UNITED `STATES PATENT OFFICE amarsiv comsnmc'ron Bert E.

of Illinois oak Park, nl., Novelty Company, Chicago, Ill.,

asslgnor to Mills a corporation Application October 1, 1937, Serial No.166,766

f 6 Claims.

This invention relates to coin selectors and has as its object toprovide a device that will select United States nickels from slugs ofdie-casting metalas well as slugs, checks, counterfeit coins,

and coins of other denominations.

In order to 'attain eflicient separation of the nickels from slugs ofbrass, copper, etc., an arrangement of bouncing block and magnetic fieldfor producing eddy-current retardation, may be employed, as disclosed inmy pending application.

Serial No. 166,763, led of even date herewith.

The present invention is not limited to that typeit is intended to beused in to secure complete from which the nickels will rebound but fromwhich lead slugs, having little resiliency, will not rebound 'to anymarked degree.

Slugs of die-casting metal, however, have proved very diicult toseparate because not only their indifference to the magnetic eld, buttheir rebounding characteristic under conventional conditions, is quiteclose to that of the nickel.

discovery that such slugs may .be efficiently separated from nickels bybouncing both against a rebound member comprising a series of knifeedges disposed so as to compositely form a serrated surface, the edgesbeing position at right angles to the plane of travel of the coins.United States nickels will rebound from such a surface about as well asfrom a continuous flat surface, while slugs of casting metal willrebound very little. This is apparently dueto the fact that the castingmetal, though as elastic as the nickelcopper alloy of the United Statesnickel, is softer, so las to be penetrated by the knife edges of therebound member sufficiently to deaden the rebound.

Another object of the invention is to provide a coin selector embodyinga bouncing block on which new coins will bounce as uniformly as will 0older coins. Where a new coin with its knurled ridges still sharp,strikes a smooth-faced rebound member in such a position that the blowis centered with respect to a single one of the ridges, the ridge whichthus the impact will be crushed-to such an extent as The presentinvention is predicated upon thev absorbs a major portion of- (Cl.15M-100) to materially alter the rebound as compared to the reboundmember that of a worn coin striking in the same manner, or as comparedanother new coin striking the rebound a. position in which the tworidges. The present non-uniformity of rebound.

Another object is to provide bodying a bouncing block, the coin surfaceof which all times. Old types o tendency to coins that are bounceinterfere with proper the present invention, lodged from a coin into thebouncing lodge in the grooves rebound of the accompanying drawing, inwhich:

Figure 1 is a front elevation, partly of a coin selector embodying theinvention;

Figure 2 isa vertical, transverse, sectional view the line 2-2 ofthrough the same, tak'e on Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of one plates forming the rebound surfaceof the rebound member; Y

, Figure 4 is a perspective viewvof onivevbf-.Ithe

spacers of the rebound member; and

of the rebound member.

clude the magnetic field pro closed in my copending application, above,the disclosure vertical passage II extending the lower end thereof. astwo outlet passages ventionally formed in a ing anges I5 defining thesides of the passages, and

are carried. The passa rated by a' dividing end of the passage very thinsheet steel. For best results, tion with the selection of U. S. nickels,

blow is divided between invention avoids such a coin selector em--contacting will remain bright and clean at f bouncing blocks have c.become 'coated with grime from .the

d thereon, and such coatings any foreign material disbetween the knifekedges. Other,` objects of the invention will become apparent from thefollowing detailed description of the invention considered in connectionwith the Figure 5 is a sectional view of a modified form a web portionI6 secured by screws I1 to a base plate I8, on which the various partsges I2 and I3 may be sepablock I9 of triangular shape.

Carried by the plate I8 below the oper.l lower II,is a rebound membercomprising a'series of spaced upstanding plates 20 of to that of memberin COIlS. In

p block will in section,

of the thin respective in connecthe platesigfi are between .008 and .015inch thick at their upper edges and arespaced apart by spaces not lessthan .025 inch wide. mounted in spaced relation by means of spacers 2|.The plates 20 and 2I are perforated as at 22, and are secured inassembled relationship by a pair of screws 23 extended through a block24, thence through the apertures 22, and threaded into an upstandinghorn 25 of a mounting saddle 26, their, lower edges resting on ashoulder 21 at the base of the horn.

'I'he saddle 26 is mounted on the base plate I8 by means of a screw 28extended through a round hole in one side of the block, and a secondscrew 29 extended through an elongated opening 30 in the other side ofthe saddle`,'arranged circumferentially with respect to the screw 28.Thus the angle of inclination of the rebound surface formed by the upperedges of the plates 20, may be adjusted.

The upper edges of the plates 20 are arranged at right angles to the sothat the coin C, dropping through the passage I I along the pathindicated by the broken line 80, will strike the rebound member in aposition transverse to the said edges.

United States nickels are of suilicient hardness and toughness torebound in an extended trajectory as indicated by the broken line 8|, so

30 as to clear the dividing barrier I8 and enter the acceptable coinoutlet passage I2.

Nickels counterfeited from die-casting metal, although of suilicientresilience to follow substantially the same trajectory as that ofgenuine ickels when rebounding from a smooth-faced anvil, will besubstantially stopped dead by the thin edges of the plates 20, and willthence enter the rejection outlet I8, as indicated by broken line 82. Iattribute this result` to the fact that die metal is not as tough asnickel-copper alloy, and will allow the edges of plates 20 to penetrateit suiiiclently to substantially absorb the impact.

In the modification shown in Figure 5, the rebound member is formed by aseries of blades 88, the upper edges of which arepbevelled to present aseries of edges of spacing and thickness equivalent to that specified inthel preferred form.

The plates 20, or 88, as the case may be, are formed of hardened steeL.

Their upper edges are arranged in a plane,l

which inclinesdownwardly slightly in the direction-of the passages I2and I8, so that the coins,

in rebounding, are deflected laterally.

'I'he invention not only solves the problem of separation betweennickels and die-metal slugs, but, in addition, avoids a condition thatis met in connection with brand-new coins on which the knurled ridgeshave'not been dulled. If such a coin strikes a smooth anvil so that theimpact -is' taken by a single ridge, the latter will be crushed andabsorb the impact so that the coin will not bounce properly. In thepresent invention, it is impossible for this to happen, for the reasonthat the knife edges will enter between the ridges and contact the solidbody of the coin.

Since the edges are disposed at right angles to the plane in which thecoins travel, the coins 'I'he plates 28 are@` plane of'the passage Il,"

. tioned to be contacted l selector, means for causing said coins tofall by will plane.

.1. In a coin selector, 'a rebound member A presenting l'a series ofspaced thin edges in position 'to be contacted by a coin moving in aplane perpendicular to said edges, said edges being such that UnitedStates nickels will rebound therefrom to a sufficiently greater degreethan will slugs of die-casting metal, so that the nickels and the slugscan be readily separated upon rebound, means for directing the coinsonto'said rebound membeigand separatemeans for receiving coins havingdifferent trajectories upon rebound from said member. i,

2. In a coin selector, a rebound member comprising a series of extremelythin, hardened metal plates, an alternating series of spacers of greaterthickness than said plates, spacing said plates apart, said platesprojecting beyond said spacers to form a series of edges for contact bya moving coin, means for directing the coins onto said rebound member,and separate means for receiving coins having diii'erent trajectoriesupon rebound from said member.

3. In a coin selector, a rebound member presenting a series of spacededges of extreme thinness, means to drop a coin upon said edges in aplane at right angles to said edges, and a pair of discharge chutes ofsaid rebound member in positions to receive coins rebounding from saidmember, nickels being adapted to rebound to the far chute and slugs,

of die-casting material being adapted to fall short and` pass into thenear chute.

4. In a coin selector, a rebound member presenting a series of knifeedges for contact by a coin dropping thereon, means for directing coinsonto said member, and means providing for rebound of the coins from saidmember including means for directing in separate paths coins followingdiilerent trajectories upon rebounding from said member.

5. In a coin selector, a rebound member comprising a number of blade.elements bound together and providing a series of knife edges upon thesurfaces adapted to be contacted by coins inserted in the selector,means for causing said coins to fall by gravity onto said member, andmeans for receiving and directing into separate paths coins of diilerentbounding from said member.

6. In a coinv selector, a rebound member presenting a series of spacedthin edges posiby coins inserted in the gravity onto said member, andmeans for receiving and directing into separate paths coins of differentdegrees of resiliency rebounding from said member.

- BERT E. MILLS.

bounce wahdut being" thrown out of 'andy 'I'he foregoing detaileddescription has been.

positioned at one side,

degrees of resiliency re-

